Black Horizon Part 2
As Unicron prepares to attack Earth, Joe Colton shows his successors how things should really be done! Issue summary Cosmos and Firewall have reached the Himalayas and are searching for Hawk, Flint and Optimus Prime. Suddenly Firewall is pulled under the snow and then Cosmos falls down a pit. Firewall finds herself in a cavern with a Yeti bearing down on her. Elsewhere Golobulus berates Pythona for letting Joe Colton escape and orders the awakening of the Nemesis Enforcer. At the Pit several Joes assemble whilst Duke and Lady Jaye convince General Flagg to let them go to Tibet. At Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station a technician reports a "meteor" has slowed to near Earth and picks up a radio signal saying "IIIIIII retuuurrrnnn...." In the caverns in Tibet Joe Colton leads Hawk, Flint and Prime down a tunnel. Colton explains that Bludgeon and several other Decepticons came to Earth years ago to conquer the planet but were shot down by the Chinese and severely damaged. Bludgeon made a deal with the ruler of Cobra-La to save himself. As the four cross a ledge Bludgeon and the Royal Guard attack. Prime and Colton tackle Bludgeon and the guards respectively whilst Hawk releases Flint from the organic bonds holding him. Prime smashes a hole in Bludgeon's Pretender shell, revealing the robot within and they continue fighting until Bludgeon goes over the edge of a ravine and rejects Prime's attempts to save him. Colton has subdued all the guards and is not impressed to be called a "crazy old coot" by Flint. As the four continue onwards, Colton explains he has remained a prisoner for many years despite being able to escape because he realised Cobra-La was up to something and he now knows the layout of the base and a way to stop Unicron. In a chamber Pythona goes to a pod and brings to life the Nemesis Enforcer, giving him orders to destroy. Unicron has now come close to Earth and can be seen with the naked eye. In a cavern in Cobra-La Firewall is chained up, having been dressed in a sacrificial outfit. Dr. Mindbender enters and tells her she is to be sacrificed in honour of Unicron. Down below Colton leads Flint through narrow tunnels to a cave where the Yeti farm metal-eating spores that Golobulus has prepared in case things go wrong with Unicron. Suddenly the Yeti attack but Colton fights back. Cosmos suddenly arrives in flying saucer mode and blasts the remaining Yeti. He tells the other of Firewall's disappearance and Colton interrogates a Yeti. Outside a squadron of Joe vehicles is advancing through the Himalayas, observed by the Pretender Monsters under orders to stop them. They agree to emerge from their shells and combine into Monstructor. Inside Cobra-La Prime watches as Colton, Flint and Hawk carefully load the spores aboard Cosmos so as not to endanger him. Then Flint boards Cosmos who takes off to deal with Unicron. In the sky the Nemesis Enforcer spots the remaining three. Flint and Cosmos approach Unicron, who suddenly transforms from planet to robot mode. Cosmos flies straight into his mouth. Down on Earth Golobulus addresses the citizens of Cobra-La and heralds the imminent destruction of the humans and their mechanical technology. Suddenly Prime races in in his cab mode and transforms. Golobulus orders the guards and creatures to attack, with a huge insect knocking Prime down. The Nemesis Enforcer swoops down and grabs Colton, who chops off one of his attacker's wings. Inside Unicron Cosmos tells Flint they must reach the brain module to cause sufficient damage in time,when they are attacked by Unicron's slaves. At the Pit Mainframe tells Flagg that Unicron's gravitational field is disrupting the planet. In Tibet Colton and the Nemesis Enforcer fight on as Pythona watches. She tells Colton he was a fool to leave her, especially as she told him that the only way to escape the Enforcer is death. Colton appeals to her compassion to not condemn the humans to death, but she tries to deny it. Meanwhile Prime has been subdued and is about to be terminated when he finds the strength to rise and uses the giant insect to knock aside the guards. At the altar Golobulus is about to sacrifice Firewall when Hawk shoots the knife out of his hand. In turn Golobulus uses his tail to disarm Hawk and the two exchange blows. Outside the base Monstructor blasts at the Joes, whilst protected by an energy field. He laughs but suddenly several lasers hit him, causing his head to explode and his body to break up into the individual Pretender Monsters. The Laser Squad celebrate their victory. Insider the Nemesis Enforcer has subdued Colton and is about to kill him when Pythona suddenly produces a knife and stabs the Enforcer in the back, killing him. She tells Colton she feels more than she should. Up above Unicron starts to reach for the Earth whilst Cosmos reaches Unicron's brain module. However several laser defences hit Cosmos and so Flint emerges from the saucer to face the slaves single-handed. In Tibet Hawk frees Firewall but is suddenly attacked by Golobulus who proceeds to rant about how humans are destroying the Earth and even worse is Hawk's alliance with "mechanical monstrosities" who he intends to eradicate. Suddenly Golobulus is felled by a punch from Prime. The Joe vehicles burst through and Mindbender tries to escape, but is knocked out by Colton. He and Duke proceed to shoot down the Cobra-La creatures. Inside Unicron Flint subdues the various slaves, throwing the bag of spores at Carcass and then using his pistol to detonate them. The spores rapidly attack Unicron who screams as his brain is consumed. Cosmos has now restored his systems and he rapidly flies Flint out. Later the surviving members of Cobra-La are led away to confinement awaiting trial. Colton wonders what he will do now, having been away from the world for twenty-five years. Cosmos lands and Flint disembarks, to applause from all, even Colton. Later still at the Pit Prime tells Firewall that Sidewipe, Skids and Prowl will recover from their injuries. She suggests he join her and Eject in watching some television to take his mind off the events of the last few days and he slowly agrees. Meanwhile Flint tells a squad of Joes they have a new mission to go to Unicron's body and establish order and assistance for the slaves aboard. He introduces their commander - Colton, who looks forward to the adventure. In Denver Hawk has reconnected with Carolee and he tells her the future now looks perfect. Featured Characters Featured Vehicles & Equipment Errors Items of note * When Colton hits a Yeti he calls the maneuver "Kung Fu Grip". * The Decepticon Bristleback is not present with the other five Pretender Monsters. * Some of Unicron's slaves are from the Battle Beasts toyline, which in Japan was incorporated into the Transformers toyline under the title of Beastformers. Footnotes Category:Devil's Due issues Category:Transformers crossovers